Constabulary

Picture is a bit small but it seems to be a Singer 133K8 with walking foot

I recently figured that there is a very interesting "museum" in Bielefeld as well. It is an old factory for household linen and so forth. They have closed this factory in 1980 and EVERYTHING is still at its place just as it was on the day they have left the building. The oldest sewing machine is from 1914 and the newest from 1962. Nothing is put together this is entirely the original factory!!! http://www.museum-waeschefabrik.de/Museum.html Too bad I did not know of it earlier.

I don´t know what they are producing in the new factory but I´m sure nowadays most Dürkopp-Adler Machines come form the Czech Republic (Minerva?) and / or from China. I was just interested in seeing the old buildings but since I was in Bielefeld anyway I just have checked out the new location. Sooner or later I want to visit Wittenberge (Germany) where Singer made sewing machines until 1945. I know the old watch tower is still present and they have a museum in it. http://www.schlingenfaenger.de/sfsite/index.php?id=188

I know them, they have these "flip back and forth thing" for sharpening, right? Are you still using the Rolls razor? Off Topic - but a very cool razor also is the SCHICK Magazine repeating razor - I´m lucky to own one of them.

Some more. The new plant is not very "representaive" I´d say - typical 1970´s style building. The Old plant is awesome - would benice to have a flat or shop in that building!!!

Today I had a trip to the City of Bielefeld - the Home of Dürkopp-Adler sewing machines - but this time not for purchasing old sewing machines. I took the chance and took some pictures of the former Dürkopp Werke plant. And I checked where the new Dürkopp-Adler plant is located. Unfortunately I forgot to take the slip with the address of the former Kochs-Adler Werke plant with me. Damn - maybe next time! So here are some pictures:

Payment received - SOLD

Pending Payment...

a few more pics

I have a bunch of sword type (diamond ?) and round type awls but have no use for them. The appear to be unused but have some signs of storage / light surface rust. What you see is what you get - this is a lot of 40+ awl blades in different length + strength. I´m no expert so if you need some more information please ask. I´d ask $25 for the entire lot + $6 Worldwide registered shipping. Paypal is welcome.

I´d say too thin thread or too thick needle. I´d try a 180 to 200 (metric) needles for 277 thread (180 might be a bit tight but I´d at least try it) and would reduce the foot pressure on the center foot as it leaves feed dog marks on the backside. Leather seems not to be very thick so a round point needle could probably work fine but depends on the result you expect. Different points produce different seams. I think I have seen a chart from GROZ BECKERT showing the different seams that the different needle tip will produce but can´t find it atm.

Thanks Billybopp - I try my best to turn it in to a good usable condition but I don´t think you can consider them as factory new or so. They are just too old and of course a lot of parts still show their age. It´s a hobby and one machine pays the next (if possible) but if I would count the hrs I work on some machines I´d say it is money loosing. I just like what I do and hope others like it too. Old cast iron is not dead - most machines are worth restoring them - no matter what others say. It´s a bit of a point of view.

I noticed that some mfg´s offer "laser guides" for their machines. I was wondering if such an device makes sense at all as there is no physical guidance - it´s just a line of light but that does not make you sew straight seams - right? So I was looking around a bit and found some cheap parts for tinkering on Ebay. - Line laser for ~2€ - Battery Box for ~2.20€ - Cable Clamp for ~5€ (for 2) - some cable from the spare parts box So thats less than 10€ incl. shipping for a "Laser Guide" - I thought thats worth to give it a try. I have chosen a stick on cable clamp as I don´t wanted to have anything permanent for just trying it out. It works OK. And here is the result: Old cable removed and soldered a longer cable between the parts. I only found just one useful purpose for my work and that is sewing straight line between 2 fixed spots like the corners of box tacks but only when the distance is not too long. I think on distances longer than approx. 5"- 6" it does not make sense. Or you have but some reference marks on the material. Other that that I absolutely do not see any advantage but I have to admit thats the X-box tacks look better now as you don´t have to make corrections while sewing when you are a bit out of line. So for me it is a funny gadget but I don´t see many useful purposes. I will try it for a while to see what else it is good for. What is you experience with laser guides? Any opinions?

What a coot tool! I never thought someting like this would exist!

Al - No it is metric. I had to tap a new thread for the thumb screw as it came with a metric thread. Darren - they are commercial availlable? Sounds good - can you point me to a tap set for Singer threads? I live in a metric World and do not know much about the US threading system but a Singer tap set would be nice to have.

$69? Is it just the roller guide or does it come with plate? I have a flip down edge guide on my 111G156. It comes with interchangebale guide tips - one straight and one roller guide. It will fit your 153 as well but you have to drill some holes. You can find them on Ebay, College Sewing and so forth. MIne is from College Sewing and works great. Very versatile and I´m sure it will fit most other industrial machines as well. https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/KG1245-DROP-GUIDE-PFAFF-1245,1246,1525,1526,335,591 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suspending-Edge-Guide-for-Industrial-Walking-Foot-Sewing-Machine-Juki-Consew-GB-/181638866413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4a8525ed www.kwokhing.com is another source but I don´t know if they still sell to end consumers.

here are some quick shots for the impatient ones

For sure a good idea but not everybody has hard soldering or welding equipment (like me) I´ll keep my BCL - maybe one day I can reuse it like you suggested but until then I have replace the parts when I´m restoring a machine.

GOOD NEWS! Today my last order from College Sewing has arrived and I was able to install the BCL. I had to grind down maybe 1/2mm - 1mm on one side of the ring with my Dremel and voila - it fits and works absolutely perfect. But that was a bit of trial and error. Sorry I took no pictures but it really was a comparatively easy repair. Maybe I´ll take some pics in the days to come but for today I don´t want to rip the head apart again (I think I did it 5 or 6 times today). Seems I now get 5.5 SPI out of it (w/o thread and on plain paper) but I will measure it again when I´m done with the entire setup. I think when I replace the feed motion ring as well I probably would get an even better score. But comparing with the 7 - 6.5 SPI I got out of it when I first cranked the machine it is a pretty good result! So when you have issues with too short stitches I really would recommend replacing the Bell Crank Lever and (maybe) the Feed Motion Ring. But be aware that you have to modify the parts and I only can speak for the 29K1 as I have not worked on any other "old type" 29K machine. But I think this repair will work on most other 29K too. Conclusion until now: I think it it worth the money and the work! To be continued...

I´m sure you can manage it - it is not rocket science but a bit of trial and error until you have found the best setting. The good thing is that you learn a lot when you do it on your own. Sooner or later you have to do it again and then you know what and how to do!

Maybe this post could be helpful for you: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=59250&p=382015

That is the needle deflector, you can carefully adjust it / bend a tiny bit but be really carefull!!!! But before you do that check if the hook tip meets the needle scarf ~ 1.6mm above the needle eye when the needle bar is on the upwards stroke. BTW - your hook tip is broken or blunt as it seems but I´m not sure it just looks like.

sorry - no pictures...

yes - thats right!

So do I - but fortunately I´m "healthy" enough to sell what I don´t need. But I have a feeling that sooner or later I will have a few more than I need. I´m fortunately not interested in domestic machines (I had a few but thats not my part). I like the vintage industrial medium + heavy machines.